Universally-movable tracker-board.



- M. I. HOLDERMAN. UNIVERSALLY MOVABLE TRACKER BOARD.

APPLIOATIONIILBD KAY 18, 1909.

Patented May 10, 1910.

III:

j UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

I MARION F. HOLDEBMAN, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

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Specification of Letters iatent.

Patented May 10, 1910.

Application filed Iay'lB, 1909. Serial No. 496,868.

To all wlwm it may comer-n:

Be it known that I, MARION F. Howar- MAN, a. citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Washington, in the District of Columbia, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Universally-MovableTracker-Boards; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to thefigures of reference marked thereon, which form a, part of .thisspecification. I

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in trackerboardsfor mechanical musical players and for various other instruments andcomprises essentially a trackerboard so arranged as to have alongitudinal movement in opposite directions as well as a tilting orbackward and forward movement or upward and downward movement,

afiording means whereby pieces of music may be played in any key, andthe trackerboard moved to adapt the same to irregulari' ties inperforated sheets, etc. The invention relates further to a universallymovable trackerboard adapted for use upon apparatus; controlled byperforated sheets or rolls and contemplates a tracker board which may bemoved at-any position independent of any operating mechanism and forvarious purposes which will be hereinafter fully described and thenspecifically defined in the appended claims.

1 My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in \vhich:

Figure 1 is a front elevation showing the application of my invention tothe well of a piano player. Fig. 2 is an enlarged elevation of a portionof the well and showing in dotted lines the trackerboa'rd in differentadjusted positions, and Fig. 3 is a detailshowing the trackerboard inend elevation.

. Figs. 4 and 5 are detail views showing the manner of tilting one endor the other of the trackerboard.

Reference nowbeing had to the detailsof the drawings by numeral, 1designates the well of a piano playing apparatus which is of the usualshape and construction com monly employed for holding the trackerboardand spools, and 2 and 3 designate the spools upon whichthe perforatedstrip 4 is adapted to wind. The upright pieces of said .well arerecessed as at 5 at positions opposite each other and adapted to receivea universally movable trackerb'oard 6 without any operating meanswhatever Said trackerboard, which is preferably of the standard make, isprovided with the usual apertures 7. in which nipples 30 are placed andto each nipple a flexible tube 31 is connected 'which communicates witha pneumatic in the usual manner.

The recesses formed in the ed es of the upright pieces of the well areslig itly wider than the width of the trackerboard in order to allow oneend or the other thereof to have a tilting movement, to assume thepositions shown in Fig.2 of the drawings, or a longitudinal or an up anddown movement, or a forward and backward movement, accordingly as may bedesired for various purposes for which the invention may be-adapted. Theends of the trackerboard project beyond the ends of the well, as shown,to allow for different longitudinal movements. In order being flexiblewill allow the trackerboard to be moved in different positions.

In order to indicate the different adjustments for playing in differentkeys, an indicating card, suitably graduated and designated by numeral28, is mounted upon the trackerboard and movable therewith andstationary indicating pointers 29 are fixed to the opposite ends of thewell and one adapted to indicate adjacent to the face of each indicatingcard.

In operation, it will be understood that the apertures of thetrackerboard communicate preferabl' thmgugh flexible tubes with thepneuma ce of the apparatushut which tubes are not shown in the presentapplication, As the ducts or tubes of a trackerboard communicate withpneumatic devices for given notes or tones of the instrument, theshifting of the trackerboard across the line of travel of the sheet ofmusic will change the key of the music, for instance, a movement to theI left having the effect to expose to the perforated music sheet a rangeof notes higher up and raising the key, while a movementto the right fora like reason will lower the key in which the music will. be played.

In the musical art, it is well known that in pneumatic players ascommonly constructed they are adapted to play music in the key in whichthe music is made only and it often happens that the music is notperforated or made in the bestfkey or to the one most pleasing theoperator and hence it is desired to change the key instantly and whichmay be accomplished by moving the trackerboard to the right or left,thus allowing the music to be played in any number of keys from the oneperforated sheet, this adjust ment being adapted to be made instantlywhen the music is running over the trackerboard. The indicator cards aregraduated .to correspond to the size ofthe apertures in the trackerboardand register the movement of the trackerboard to the right or left. Thefigures upon the cards, it will be understood, show how many semitonesthe trackerboard is to be or is moved to the right or left from the keydesired and the letters show the key,

By this arrangement of the letters in conjunction with the figures, anytransposition desired may be made, while the pointers show how far thetrackerboard has been moved and also the key.

In the drawings, I have illustrated a sheet of music perforated in thekey off), in which event the pointer would normally indicate in themanner shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings but, in the event of apiece of music perforated in a different key being utilized, forinstance if it were if, the indicating card would be moved so that theindicating pointers would lie-opposite the line adj acent to the letterF, thus adapting the apparatus being moved from such normal position tochange to play in different keys.

As itfrequently happens that musical records for various reasons becomedistorted from exposure to' atmospheric influences, one edge or theother of the sheet will shrink and eicpand, thus making it impossible tooperate the instrument with such defective record strip but, by theprovision of a universally movable trackerboard orone which will allowthe trackerboard to move without any mechanism, either backward orforward longitudinally, or allow one end or the other to tilt up or movehorizontally, or down, or

backward, or forward, by the operator .simply taking hold of saidtracker-board and manipulating the same, not only will it be possible toplay the piece in any key but the seams operator may raise or lower thetrackerboard to allow the same to conform to irregularities due toshrinkage or other causes in the opposite'edges of the perforated stripand also move the trackerboard toward or away from the perforated strip,thus allowing the same ,to wind truly upon the spools and with aslittle'friction as possible.

lVhat I claim to be new is 1. In combination with the frame of a pianoplayer, a trackerboard mounted for universal movement thereon relativeto a perforated music sheet movable against the trackerboard.

2. In combination'witl'i the frame of a piano player, a trackerboardmounted for universal movement thereon relative to a perforated musicsheet movable against the trackerboard, and yielding means for holdingthe trackerboard on an adjusted position in the frame.

8. In combination with the frame of a piano player having openings inthe opposite sides thereof, a trackerboard mounted in said openings andadapted to have a universal movement relative to a perforated musicsheet movable against the trackerboard, and. springs fastened to theedges of the frame and adapted to hold the tracker board in adjustedpositions.

4. in combinationwith the frame of a piano player having open recessesin the opposite sides thereof, a trackerboard mounted.

in said recesses and adapted to have a universal movement relative to aperforated music sheet movable against the trackerboard.

5. In combination with the frame of a piano player having open recessesin the 0p posite sides thereof, a trackerboard mounted in said recessesand adapted to have a universal movement relative to a perforated musicsheet movable against the trackerboard, and means secured to the edgesof the frame and designed to hold the trackerboard in said recesses.

6. In combination with the frame of. a piano player having open recessesin the 0pposite sides thereof, a trackerboard mounted. in said recessesand adapted to have a uni? versal movement relative to a perforatedmusic sheet movable against the trackerboard, springs fastened to theedges of the frame and designed to hold the trackerboard in saidrecesses.

7. In combination with the frame of a piano player, a trackerboardmounted therein and adapted to have a universal movement relative to theperforated m'usic sheet movable against said board, a raduatedindicating card positioned adjacent to the trackerboard, and a pointercooperating with the graduations upon said card to indicatc theadjustments of the trackerboard.

8. In combination with a well of a piano player, a universally movabletrackerboard m0unted"ther'e1n, an indicating card movable With thetracker-board, and afixed pointer cooperating with said card to indicatethe a fiustments of the trackerboard.

9'. In combination with the well of a piano player, a universallymovable trackerboard mounted therein, means for holding the same inadjusted positions, a graduated in-- dlcating card positioned ad acentto said board, and a pointer cooperating with the graduations upon saidcard to indicate the adjustment of the trackerboard.

10. In combination with the well of a piano player having recessestherein, a longitudinally movable trackerboard narrower than the widthof said recesses in whichv the same ispositioned, and means for hold--ing said trackerboard indifferent positions within said'recesses- 11.In combination with the well of a piano player having recesses therein,a longitudinally movable trackerboard narrower than the widthof saidrecesses in which the trac-kerboard is positioned and friction meansbearing against the tracker-board and adapted to hold the same inadjusted positions within the recesses.

12.111 combinationwith the well of a piano player having recessestherein, a lon gitudinally movable trackerboard narrower than the widthof said recesses in which the same is positioned, springs fastened tothe endstof the well and bearing yieldingly against the trackerboard andadapted to hold the same in adjusted positions in said recesses.

13. In combination with a frame having openings in the opposite sidesthereof, a

ftrackerboard movable longitudinally ,and 4e laterally withinsaidopenings, and flexible tubes connected to the trackerboard.

14-. In combination with a frame having openings in the opposite sidesthereof, a

trackerboard movable longitudinally and {5 laterally within saidopenings, means bearing against the, trackerboard for holding same insaid frame, and flexible tubes connected to saidtrackerboard. a

15. In combination with th well of a 5 1 MARION F.- HOLDERMAN-Witnesses: I I I .E. R. Lnvr,

FRANKLIN H. HOUGH.

